Griffith Force Behind StingRay Rally, 82-76

The San Jose Lasers did almost everything right Saturday night, trying to defend Long Beach’s Yolanda Griffith.

The Lasers held the ABL’s leading rebounder to three rebounds in the first half, including no points and no rebounds in the second quarter, and steadily crafted a lead that reached 10 points at halftime and 15 in the third quarter.

But like every other Long Beach opponent this season, the Lasers couldn’t finish the job on Griffith, who can beat teams with her speed, inside offense, steals and blocked shots.

Saturday, she broke the defense of San Jose’s Clarisse Machanguana and scored nine consecutive points in the fourth quarter, rallying Long Beach to an 82-76 victory before 7,978 at the San Jose Arena.

In her most impressive performance yet, Griffith took charge with 6:11 to play and San Jose (5-11) holding a 69-62 lead.

Griffith then:

* Made a free throw with 4:44 left.

* Scored on a layup leading a fast break after a Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil steal.

* Converted a put-back after a Davis-Wrightsil miss.

* Scored on a drive down the middle, off a great pass by point guard Andrea Nagy to get a 69-69 tie.

* Stole the ball, went the length of the court and was fouled by San Jose’s Sonja Henning for a lead Long Beach (8-6) would yield only once, when San Jose briefly tied the score, 71-71, after making two free throws.

Griffith pretty much sealed the victory with a drive to give the StingRays a 79-75 lead with 23 seconds to play.

Griffith finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds on a night when she seemed headed for single-digit scoring and rebounds.

Afterward, San Jose Coach Angela Beck said Long Beach’s switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense in the fourth quarter rattled her team.

“We didn’t handle that well, we became overly cautious,” she said. “Griffith is a force and she’s surrounded by very experienced players and they took it to us.”

Long Beach Coach Maura McHugh called it typical Griffith.

“When Yo isn’t getting shots or rebounding, we’re not concerned because we know it’s just a matter of time before she comes through for us,” she said.

Griffith refused to attribute her early-game production falloff to anything San Jose did.

“They didn’t stop me--I just got away from our offense and away from my teammates,” said Griffith, who in the fourth period had 13 points, four rebounds, a blocked shot and two steals.

“We knew we’d beaten this team twice already, we weren’t worried. Once I started making myself big for my teammates, they got the ball to me.

“Also, in the second and fourth quarters, we weren’t putting a lot of pressure on them. In the fourth, we did.”

ABL Notes

The StingRays are 0-4 when Griffith scores fewer than 20 points. . . .

Next for Long Beach is a 7 p.m. Friday game at Seattle. . . .

Former UCLA star Natalie Williams had a team-high 22 points to lead the Portland Power past the Atlanta Glory, 79-76, before 6,417 at Portland.

Atlanta’s Teresa Edwards led all scorers with 32 points.

Portland improved to 12-4 and Atlanta dropped to 6-9.